TruTV Unveils 3 New Series, 7 Pilots With Focus On Comedic Reality Series

TruTV said today as it meets with advertisers that it is shifting half its lineup to comedic reality series by year’s end, and has greenlighted three new original series and ordered seven pilots to go with current hits Impractical Jokers and Killer Karaoke. The network says the move targets “funseekers” — a demo evenly split between males and females with a median age of 35 “who look for comedic reality shows that are exciting to watch and prefer humor that is suspenseful, edgy and irreverent. They also look for mood-elevating shows that provide an escape and feature compelling twists and turns”. TruTV also officially renewed four series: Impractical Jokers, Guinness World Records Gone Wild, Upload With Shaquille O’Neal and the previously announced Hardcore Pawn: Chicago. Here are the network’s descriptions of the new offerings:

New Series

Panic Button
Would you completely panic if you had to make it thru a haunted house that not only knows your deepest fears, but also talks to you? That’s what the contestants will face on Panic Button, the new truTV challenge show that will find out who’s bold enough to move forward or scared enough to hit the Panic Button. truTV has ordered 12 half-hour episodes of this series, which is being produced by Eleven Television.

Recent Comments

Many people waiting to see "Cold Hard Catch," when is it going to premier?

Kathy

1 year

When is the pilot of "Cold Hard Catch", that was video taped on Lake Mille Lacs in...

JEFF BOWMAN

1 year

I just wanna see more of Jessie Ventura conspiracies shows, it may be streching the reality but...

Cash Dome Pawn
truTV heads to one of the wildest and most outrageous pawn shops in the country, the Cash Dome, run by Josh “White Boy” Gallander. From dealing with disruptive clientele to negotiating with housewives and businessmen, White Boy, his brother Josh and their overwhelmed dad certainly have their hands full in this latest entry in truTV’s pawnshop franchise. truTV has ordered six half-hour episodes of Cash Dome Pawn from 51 Minds Entertainment LLC, an Endemol Company.

Big Sam’s Kentucky Auction (working title)
This half-hour series follows the happenings at Sammie’s Auction, a colorful auction house in Corbin, Ky. This family-owned business buys rare and sometimes outrageous items during the week and then sells them off on weekend nights. Sammie, his family and his madcap employees will buy or sell just about anything: wedding dresses, condoms, live animals, condominiums, antique coins, warrior helmets, antique cars, motorcycles, bull castrators…you name it. truTV has ordered six half-hour episodes of this series from ITV Studios America in association with Leepson Bounds Entertainment.

Pilots And DevelopmentTurbulence – Pilot
truTV takes off for one truly outrageous game show in the sky. As contestants fly from one location to another, they must complete a variety of challenges. Every successful challenge banks money for a big weekend blowout in Las Vegas. And every failure makes the flight a little bit bumpier. Turbulence comes to truTV from Howie Mandel’s Alevy Productions and FremantleMedia North America.

Payback with Trevor Moore (working title) – Pilot
In his new hidden camera prank show, comic host Trevor Moore (Whitest Kids You Know) brings his unique and hilarious POV to the genre: he gives folks the chance to get a little light-hearted revenge on a friend/relative/significant other who has it coming. The pilot is being produced by Funny or Die.

Laugh Truck (working title) – Pilot
Laugh Truck is a comedic game show in which three friends compete against each other as they ride in the back of a moving truck. To win, they must perform hilarious challenges whenever the truck comes to a stop. They know exactly what jaw-dropping dare they have to attempt, but they have no idea where the truck will stop. Laugh Truck is being produced by NorthSouth Productions, producers of truTV’s Impractical Jokers.

Cold Hard Catch – Pilot
Operating off of 20-mile-wide Lake Mille Lacs, ice-fishing resort owner Daron Stenvold has just ten weekends a year to make enough money to keep his business afloat. He and his team of “ice guys” juggle the challenges of running almost an entire business on frozen water. Giant cracks in the ice, unprecedented storms, 30-mile-per-hour winds, sub-zero temperatures, demanding ice fishermen and troublesome staff members are making this the most dangerous and challenging season yet. Cold Hard Catch is produced by Jupiter Entertainment and Brian Graden Media.

Barnstormers (working title) – Pilot
There’s big money to be found in barns across the South. This show follows teams of experts who bid on and buy old barns hoping to make a fortune off of the contents and the actual wood. The only problem is they can’t go inside before they make an offer. This project comes to truTV from Magilla Entertainment and Watson Pond Productions.

The Big Poll with John Henson (working title) – Development
This breakthrough half-hour comedy project, hosted by John Henson (Wipeout), is billed as a “crowd-sourced comedy.” The show will take multi-platform engagement to a new level by allowing viewers to directly affect the outcome of each episode. All of the show’s content will be viewer-driven and based on the results of hot-trending, pop-culture polls, quizzes, questionnaires and challenges.

Mind Games (working title) – Development
Everybody wins when hypnotist and host Will Miner takes total control of unsuspecting people and gets them to compete on a game show in which they don’t even know they are players.

13 Comments

Tru has already been caught blatantly faking it’s’reality’.. more so than others… No interest

Zachary • on Apr 17, 2013 10:58 am

I hope someday TruTV expands into partially scripted television. Improv is where it’s at, The League is IMO the funniest show on television, and RHOH has been a smash hit for BET.

Trevor! • on Apr 17, 2013 10:58 am

Trevor. I expected Moore from you. Congrats though.

Sean M • on Apr 17, 2013 10:58 am

Hey Zachary, I look forward to your insightful assessments, but there’s nothing partially scripted about those shows. They may go off book but they’re fully scripted. Just like there’s nothing real about most reality shows. They just skirt union by laws by not allowing directors to do things like say “action” or having their “story producers” put their scripted story lines in traditional script format.

Zachary • on Apr 17, 2013 10:58 am

The type of show you are describing refers to shows such as The Office and Parks and Rec. With shows like The League, a story is written, with a couple lines of crucial dialogue here and there. It is then up to the actors to make up the majority of the lines.

moe • on Apr 17, 2013 10:58 am

They should change the name. It isn’t “tru” at all. This channel was once awesome as True Crime. Then, they went “tru,” emphasizing how they weren’t like those other reality shows. Well, they are. Talk about lack of truth in advertising. Maybe that’s why it’s called tru, because there isn’t any such word.

dana • on Apr 17, 2013 10:58 am

What a bunch of crap! Simply garbage! I’m surprised all these shows didn’t come from the creative genius of the 20 yr olds running “Electus”

been there • on Apr 17, 2013 10:58 am

I am sure they will all be laugh riots once Jon Crowley unleashes his comic genius on them.

Yeah, somethings on tru tv seem soo fake. I actually have a great idea for a reality comedy that would trump most of the shows that is shown now. When I’m done with the sizzle reel I’m going to get a network to pick it up so watch out Tru TV

JEFF BOWMAN • on Apr 17, 2013 10:58 am

I just wanna see more of Jessie Ventura conspiracies shows, it may be streching the reality but they just give you enough to get good and interested in the show then they cancell it, trutv sucks for doing this to it’s viewers.

Kathy • on Apr 17, 2013 10:58 am

When is the pilot of “Cold Hard Catch”, that was video taped on Lake Mille Lacs in Minnesota, going to be televised?

mettao • on Apr 17, 2013 10:58 am

Many people waiting to see “Cold Hard Catch,” when is it going to premier?